HOSPITAL bosses have paid out almost £120,000 for clinical negligence in the first three months of this financial year - more than double the bill for the same period last year.

But Malcolm Cowen, financial director of Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley NHS Trust, urged patients not to worry after members of the board were officially informed of the losses.

Mr Cowen said the rise in payments for clinical negligence shown in financial reports for April, May and June 1999 were due to a huge "one-off" payment of £85,000 relating to an incident at Blackburn Royal Infirmary in October 1996 and not an increase in the number of complaints.

Members were told the total bill for payments for clinical negligence made in the first quarter of this year was £118,800, which is more than double the £47,200 paid out in the same period in 1998.

Mr Cowen refused to reveal the exact nature of the five claims because of patient confidentiality but the report to the board contains details of five cases which include the £85,000 settlement as well a further £30,000 settlement from November 1994 relating to an incident at Queen's Park Hospital and three smaller claims relating to Blackburn Royal Infirmary. But Mr Cowen admitted claims for clinical negligence were beginning to accelerate as ongoing cases drew to a conclusion and conceded payments would continue to increase in the next three or four years.

He added: "The number of claims is about the same as previous years. It is not the volume that has led to the increase in payments for this quarter, it is the particularly big settlement of £85,000 which is the biggest to be paid out for clinical negligence since we became a trust.

"But that is a one-off and there is not a major problem here. The number of complaints we get is fairly steady and we have a very low claims record compared with similar trusts.

"We're doing very well clinically and I would move to reassure patients that it is not a problem they should worry about."

The report also shows the trust has written off more than £4,000 in bad debts in the same period although there were no personal injury claims involving negligence compared to more £25,000 paid out in the first quarter of 1998.

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